Weekly Coaching Roundup: On the Fly Professional Learning

Are you looking for fun alternatives to sit-and-get PD? Well, look no further! We’ve packaged up a healthy serving of out-of-the-ordinary tactics for providing professional learning on the fly in this month’s topic roundup.

PD Boxes: Personalized Learning To Go

Angela Mckee shares how to use PD boxes to provide personalized professional development alongside coaching cycle support, and the steps for getting started with your own.

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When my school allowed teachers to choose which PD sessions to attend, we saw greater engagement than when the sessions were mandatory. . . . A teacher begins the professional development process by choosing a topic that’s of interest to them. Alternatively, a member of our administration might have recommended a topic for them. I send them a physical PD box to get started, and in our initial coaching session, the teacher develops a goal for the learning cycle.”

Grab & Go Professional Learning

Stephanie Affinito uses Google Slides to create a catalog of on-demand learning opportunities for teachers.

“Grab and Go is just what it sounds like:
ready to go content for teachers to explore and support their classroom teaching, conveniently packed into an appealing Google Slide for easy access and archiving. . . . As coaches, we are not here to ‘develop’ teachers, we are here to learn alongside them. We learn so we can lead the learning of others in ways that matter most to them.”

One Minute PD

Rachel Mane highlights two ways she provides quick, targeted PD for her teachers—in under 60 seconds! ⌛

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My goal for these resources is to be timely and intentional. In the emails, I share a resource or strategy with an image and a brief description which can be read in under a minute.
I try to make what I’m sharing applicable immediately to the current unit of study, or else I share a strategy they can use at any time. I strive to be intentional in the reason I am sharing the strategy or resource, which can help reduce the feeling of information overload.”

Create Your Own #CopierPD

Amy Storer showcases a fun way to provide easy-to-read PD to teachers on the go.

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Now, I create a handout each month that includes an instructional focus, tech tip, and meme of the month in what I like to call #CopierPD. To ensure the learning doesn’t stop at the copier itself, I’ve found it valuable to create a QR code for the monthly tech tip. This allows the teacher to scan it if they’re interested in learning more.”

Coaching Through Email Signatures

Stephanie Affinito is back with 7 ways you can use your email signature as a coaching tool and to spark learning.

“I am a firm believer that coaching happens in multiple contexts, in multiple ways and takes many forms. . . . In most typical email signatures, you’ll find a name, email address, pertinent contact information and a website when readers can learn more. I’ve been paying careful attention to these signatures lately and have realized they can be an important coaching tool. I mean, we all read and answer email and see the signature on a daily basis.
What if we used it to our advantage and updated it often to introduce teachers to new ideas and resources?”

#PottyPD

Kasey Bell promotes turning bathrooms into areas to advertise PD offerings and some ideas for creating your first flyer.

“We’ve all been in the restroom at a restaurant and found ourselves reading anything within sight, appropriate or not, right? Well,
why not take advantage of the few extra minutes teachers have to give them tips to add to their idea toolkit. . . . Keeping this in mind, I decided to create a visual in the restrooms as a ‘teaser,’ then curate a digital newsletter using Wakelet for teachers to access the same information later if something piqued their interest.”

Have any techniques of your own for providing professional learning on the go?
Share it with TeachBoost and we’ll highlight it here!